Auditors reject zombie label in business

A group of audit experts has warned that branding some companies as “zombies” was unfair and unhelpfulwhen applied to businesses in the manufacturing sector.

A specialist ICAEW working party - made up of experts from 10 large and medium-sized audit firms - said highlighting an inability to generate cash or attract capital ignored the cyclical nature of this sector and risked undermining future prospects by making it harder to access finance.

The new report, Audit Insights: Manufacturing, added that labelling manufacturing companies as zombie companies would lead to “prejudicial and demoralising...